Removable surface coverings



Jan. 24, 1967 A. MARING 3,300,211

REMOVABLE SURFACE COVERINGS Filed Aug. 21, 1964 INVENTQR AAFKO MARING BYW d gfgd ma ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofitice 3,300,211 PatentedJan. 24, 1967 3,300,211 REMOVABLE SURFACE COVERINGS Aafko Maring,Konstanz, Germany, assignor to L. Stromeyer & Co. G.m.b.I-I., Konstanz,Germany Filed Aug. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 391,270 Claims priority,application Germany, Aug. 24, 1963, St 21,010 4 Claims. (Cl. 273-27)This invention relates to a removable surface covering consisting of oneor more flexible webs which is intended-according to the size, materialand quality of the samefor covering freshly prepared concrete roadsurfaces and mainly as a protection against drying out of more or lesshorizontal surfaces of buildings or as a protection against rain forcovering for example cricket pitches and similar playing and sportareas.

For laying and also for removing the individual webs of such a surfacecovering, an elastic airtight member is provided according to thisinvention which is capable of being inflated to a cylindrical hollowbody which can be used as a Wrapping drum.

The said member, in the inflated condition, has a cylindrical shape likea roller and according to a further fea ture of the invention may beapplied to the surface covering Web at one end or near to one end of thesame and may be made in one therewith to form a unitary whole. In thiscase the pneumatically inflatable member is advantageously madesubstantially of the same material or entirely of the same material asthe respective web. Both may be made of plastics sheeting or for examplecoated and/or impregnated textile material. It is preferred to usematerials and processing methods such as are conventional in inflatabletents. This is also true of the inflation valve and accessories. The weband/or the member inflatable into a wrapping drum may be provided withedging of flexible webbing or tubular material, and in the latter casethe tubular material may also be inflatable, possibly with a higherpneumatic pressure than the interior of the wrapping drum. After the webhas been completely rolled up onto its inflated wrapping drum, the freeend of the web can be secured to the preceding winding of the same bymeans of buttoning means, buckles or the like. In this Way each web canbe very conveniently conveyed to another place, namely by rolling italong.

The accompanying drawing shows in a purely diagrammatic way oneembodiment of the invention, the drawing being limited to those featureswhich explain the inventive idea.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a single surface covering web prior tobeing inflated and rolled out;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of the same web after it has beeninflated but again prior to being rolled out; and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the same web as in FIGURES 1 and 2,inflated and having the free end secured, i.e. ready to be conveyed byrolling it away.

Referring to FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, a web 1 of a surface covering has atone end an end portion formed as an inflatable member 2 having aninflation valve 3. The inflated end portion, i.e. the wrapping drum 2,is a cylindrical member in the form of a roller, while when not inflatedit lies flat as shown in FIGURE 1. The deflated condition is set up, ifnecessary by opening the valve 3 and releasing the pneumatic pressure,when the web 1 with its fully unrolled surface is to fulfill itsfunction, for example as a protection against rain. If the web 1 is notrequired for a long period, it may be rolled in the condition shown inFIGURE 3, for example into a storage shed, and put away and stored,again by releasing the pneumatic internal pressure by opening the valve3. A row of buttonholes is indicated at 4. The rearward stitching 5 ofthe buttons belonging to the buttonholes 4 is shown in FIGURE 2, inwhich the buttons themselves are obscored by the web 1, because they lieon the side of the web turned to the ground (building site). Thedistance between the buttons 5 and the buttonholes 4 is chosen so thatafter the web has been rolled onto the inflated wrapping drum thebuttons lie beneath the buttonholes and can be inserted into them. Thearrow A in FIGURE 2 indicates the direction in which the individual web1 including its wrapping drum 2 must be rolled out so that the whole mayfulfill its purpose, namely so that the web 1 with the full extent ofits surfaceindicated by broken lines-may participate for example in theprotection of a cricket pitch, in which case the pneumatic pressure mustbe released, as already described above.

I claim:

1. A surface covering comprising a flexible web having an elasticairtight member at one end thereof capable of being inflated to acylindrical shape to serve as a wrapping drum when in inflated conditionfor rolling said web there- 2. A surface covering comprising a flexibleweb and an inflatable member adjacent one end of the web and integraltherewith, said member being inflatable to a cylindrical shape to serveas a wrapping drum for rolling and unrolling said Web thereon.

3. A surface covering as set forth in claim 1 wherein saifl flexible weband said member are of the same materia 4. A surface covering as setforth in claim 1 wherein the free end of said web is provided withinterengaging securing means for holding the web in wrapped position onsaid wrapping drum.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 918,391 4/1909Taarud 5348 2,765,014 10/1956 Muller --0.5

2,953,793 9/1960 Rossi 5344 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,202,100 7/1959 France.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM T. DIXSON, Examiner-

1. A SURFACE COVERING COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE WEB HAVING AN ELASTICAIRTIGHT MEMBER AT ONE END THEREOF CAPABLE OF BEING INFLATED TO ACYLINDRICAL SHAPE TO SERVE AS A WRAPPING DRUM WHEN IN INFLATED CONDITIONFOR ROLLING SAID WEB THEREON.